EDI 997 Functional Acknowledgments: What a Rejection Really Means

Every time you send a retailer an EDI document, a receipt should come back. That receipt is the 997 Functional Acknowledgment. It tells you whether your file arrived and passed basic technical checks.

What a 997 does and does not tell you

A 997 reports on the file’s structure: whether it was readable and complete. It does not say the retailer agreed to your prices or dates. That business answer comes in a separate document, the 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment.

Accepted and rejected

The most common outcomes are:

• Accepted: the file passed the technical checks.
• Accepted with errors: the file was taken in, but problems were found.
• Rejected: the file failed the checks and was not processed.

A rejection matters because the document behind it has not been processed. A rejected invoice, for example, will not move toward payment.

What to do when a rejection arrives

1. Find the error. The 997 includes detail on which part of the file failed.
2. Find the cause. Check whether the problem is in the source data or in how the file was built.
3. Fix it at the source. Correct the data, not just the file.
4. Send the corrected document and confirm that a new 997 comes back accepted.

Why timing matters

Retailers set their own rules for acknowledgments, including how quickly they expect them. Late or missing 997s measured against a retailer’s acknowledgment window can count against your compliance metrics. Find the window in your retailer’s guide, and track it.

A steady habit helps: check each day for 997s on documents you sent and for any 997 you owe in return. If a retailer sends you a document, your system is usually expected to answer it with a 997 of its own.